Photography

Infrared

WTH?

Exciting new initiatives in photography? Pushing the envelope? Outside my comfort zone? Bah, just a load of feel-good jargon nonsense ... Once again, I am not sure what I am doing. See the photos below as evidence. This is about as far removed from underwater film photography (which is where…

Phil CollaApril 8, 2009

Alaska Landscape Panoramas

Kenai Mountains and Kachemak Bay, Alaska

I was up north in Homer, Alaska to photograph bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), but I grabbed a couple landscape shots of the beautiful Kenai Mountains, which lie across Kachemak Bay from the Homer Spit. This was my view one morning, after the clouds and snow had cleared out leaving blue…

Phil CollaMarch 25, 2009

National Parks Panoramas Photography Wyoming Yellowstone

Midway Geyser Basin Panorama, Yellowstone

Midway Geyser Basin is one of my favorite parts of Yellowstone National Park. Early mornings and cold days are great here. The Firehole River steams as it flows through the basin, and numerous hot springs on either side of the river create shifting fogs and mists. In this panorama, formed…

Phil CollaFebruary 8, 2009

Aerial Photography California San Diego

Hotel del Coronado, San Diego

An aerial photo of the Hotel del Coronado, known affectionately as the Hotel Del. It was once the largest hotel in the world, and is one of the country's few remaining wooden Victorian beach resorts. It sits on the beach on Coronado Island, seen here with downtown San Diego in…

Phil CollaFebruary 7, 2009

Aerial Photography California San Diego

Crystal Pier, San Diego

Crystal Pier, a combination hotel and pier in the Pacific Beach community of San Diego, extends 872 feet out into the Pacific Ocean. A few dozen cottages sit on the pier near its base. It was built in 1925. Seen beyond Crystal Pier in this aerial photo are Mission Bay…

Phil CollaFebruary 5, 2009

Aerial Photography California San Diego

Ocean Beach Pier, San Diego

Here is a view of the Ocean Beach Pier ("OB Pier") with Sunset Cliffs and Point Loma, and even one of the Coronado Islands in the distance. Ocean Beach Pier, also known as the OB Pier or Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast…

Phil CollaFebruary 3, 2009

Canada Panoramas

Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is covered with trees (at least those parts that have not been logged out yet). One particularly notable grove is Cathedral Grove, part of MacMillan Provincial Park. In Cathedral Grove enormous Douglas fir and Western hemlock trees are found, not yet taken by the logging industry and recently…

Phil CollaFebruary 2, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

Torrey Pines State Beach

A panorama of the view from Flat Rock at sunset, viewed with your back to the sun facing the tall sandstone seacliffs that tower over Torrey Pines State Beach. This was shot from the place where yesterday's Oranjeboom couple was standing. This panoramic photo is a composite of 10 separate…

Phil CollaFebruary 1, 2009

Aerial Photography California GeoBlog Photography San Diego

Aerial Photos of San Diego

Here are a couple of new aerial photos from our recently updated collection of San Diego Photos. New Point Loma Lighthouse, situated on the tip of Point Loma Peninsula, marks the entrance to San Diego Bay. The lighthouse rises 70' and was built in 1891 to replace the "old" Point…

Phil CollaJanuary 26, 2009

Photography

Marine Mammal Commission 2007 Annual Report to Congress

Each year, the Marine Mammal Commission prepares its annual report to the United States Congress. For the 2007 edition of the report, which is the most recent, all of the photos on the front and back cover are mine. When the report was presented at a special Joint Session of…

Phil CollaJanuary 14, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

San Diego Waterfront from Coronado Island

Here is the last shot of the San Diego city skyline, over San Diego Bay, taken about an hour after the first one and the middle one, viewed from Coronado Island: San Diego city skyline at night, showing the buildings of downtown San Diego reflected in the still waters of…

Phil CollaJanuary 12, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

San Diego City Lights from Harbor Island

Here is another shot of the San Diego city skyline, over San Diego Bay, viewed a little while after the first one and from a different vantage point on Harbor Island. There just a bit of after-sunset color left in the sky. San Diego city skyline at sunset, showing the…

Phil CollaJanuary 11, 2009

Arizona Landscape Panoramas The American Southwest The Wave

Panorama of the Wave, North Coyote Buttes

The Wave, that much-photographed geological oddity on the border between Arizona and Utah. I spent some time there on my last visit trying to shoot appealing panoramas, but was not entirely satisfied, it is a tough landscape to capture that way. This was one of panorama photos I was happy…

Phil CollaJanuary 8, 2009

California Morro Bay Panoramas

Morro Bay Panorama

I got up early one morning while we were in Morro Bay to photograph the view from Morro Bay State Park, around the bay and north to Morro Rock. There was a slight offshore breeze and the air was cold and dry giving clear views in every direction. My father-in-law's…

Phil CollaJanuary 7, 2009

Best Photographs of the Year

Best Photos of 2008

Best Photos of 2008 In 2008, my photographic pursuits took me (and often, Tracy and the girls as well) all over San Diego, the central coast and deserts of California, Canada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, up in a plane and south of the border. Here are the photos from 2008…

Phil CollaDecember 31, 2008

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Sierra Nevada

Photo of Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills

Mobius Arch Photograph I made a banzai run up to the Alabama Hills last weekend. The weather forecast looked favorable, and I had not been up along the Eastern Sierra for some years, so it just seemed like the thing to do. I got up early to photograph Mobius Arch…

Phil CollaNovember 10, 2008

Aerial Photography Islas Coronado Mexico

South Island, Coronado Islands, Mexico

Here is a shot of South Island, part of the Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado) not far from San Diego and Tijuana, just south of the border. South Coronado Island, north end viewed from the north. Image ID: 21324 Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico

Phil CollaSeptember 17, 2008

Aerial Photography Islas Coronado Mexico

Middle Island, Coronado Islands, Mexico

Here is a shot of Middle Island, part of the Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado) not far from San Diego and Tijuana, just south of the border. Partially obscured by Middle Island is "Middle Rock", to the left and behind. Middle Coronado Island, viewed from the south. Image ID: 21322 Location:…

Phil CollaSeptember 15, 2008

Aerial Photography Blue Whale California San Diego

Aerial Photo of a Blue Whale

Here is another blue whale aerial photo shot from our recent flight over the Coronado Islands and Nine Mile Bank. More blue whale aerial photos. Blue whale. The sleek hydrodynamic shape of the enormous blue whale allows it to swim swiftly through the ocean, at times over one hundred miles…

Phil CollaSeptember 14, 2008

Aerial Photography Islas Coronado Mexico

North Island, Coronado Islands, Mexico

From a recent flight over Islas Coronados (Coronado Islands, Mexico) recently, seen here is the western exposure of North Coronado Island viewed from the southwest. Do you see the crack between the rightmost tip of the island and the main island? There is a narrow submerged passageway through that crack…

Phil CollaSeptember 12, 2008

Aerial Photography Blue Whale California Wildlife

Blue Whale Aerial Photograph

I had a chance to go flying with a pilot friend whom I had not seen in a few years, and jumped at the opportunity. Flying in small planes is a lot of fun, and it allows us to see the ocean in ways one cannot from the coast or…

Phil CollaSeptember 11, 2008

California GeoBlog

Map of Catalina Island Dive Sites and Locations

In the course of geotagging some old photos from Catalina Island, I realized it was simple to display the popular Catalina Island dive locations in Google Earth, Google Maps and Live Search Maps. So here they are. The map below is a small version of the Google Earth display, click…

Phil CollaAugust 24, 2008

Canada Panoramas

Big Trees Trail on Meares Island

We had a few hours in Tofino one afternoon. Our choice was to go kayaking or take a boat ride over to Meares Island to walk the Big Trees Trail. We choose the latter. Arriving on the narrow shoreline after a 10-minute skiff ride, our boat driver told us he'd…

Phil CollaJuly 31, 2008

Canada GeoBlog

British Columbia Photos on Google Earth

We returned from our British Columbia trip last weekend. We spent time in Whistler, Tofino, Victoria and Vancouver and managed to do a lot of biking, ziplining, hiking, flying, eating and beachcombing. During the past week I've reviewed all the photos we shot and edited down to a selection of…

Phil CollaJuly 27, 2008

Arizona Panoramas

Hiking Buckskin Gulch

This is a 360-degree panorama showing, in a single image, a hiker in Buckskin Gulch both coming and going. I set my camera on a tripod in the middle of the trail through Buckskin Gulch, leveled it with a bubble level, and spun it in a complete circle taking sixteen…

Phil CollaJune 9, 2008

Galapagos Diaries GeoBlog

Galapagos Islands Photos on Google Earth

Selected images from our collection of Galapagos Island photos can now be browsed in Google Earth. If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, you should be able to click on the link below and have our layer of images open up within Google Earth, showing where in the…

Phil CollaMay 17, 2008

Best Photographs of the Year

Best Photos of 2007

Best Photos of 2007 I had a couple of fantastic road trips last year, putting big miles on my Expedition, including a winter trip through Utah and Arizona (where I was able to enjoy a number of iconic locations totally alone!), a long weekend in Minnesota, a memorable journey to…

Phil CollaDecember 31, 2007

California San Clemente Island Underwater Photography

Photo of a Giant Kelp Forest with Clean Blue Water

I used to do an awful lot of diving at San Clemente Island, primarily to spend my time hovering in the middle of the water column amidst a thick forest of kelp. San Clemente Island combines the most magnificent kelp forests (Macrocystis pyrifera) in the world with pretty clean water.…

Phil CollaDecember 15, 2007

California San Clemente Island Underwater Photography

Photo of Macrocystis Kelp Fronds

These kelp fronds are at the tip of a stalk of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) which is anchored to the ocean bottom and grows up toward the ocean surface. New growth such as this occurs at the tip of the stalk. Gas filled pneumatocysts provide bouyancy to the kelp plant,…

Phil CollaDecember 12, 2007

California San Clemente Island Underwater Photography

Photo of an Underwater Photographer in a Kelp Forest

Here is a snap of my good friend Mike Johnson swimming through a forest of kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) at San Clemente Island. Most underwater photographers like to spend their time diving alone, pursuing their own particular subjects and angles and not wanting to be bothered with keeping track of a…

Phil CollaDecember 10, 2007

Tear Sheets

Tidelines Calendar 2008

This year's edition of the Tidelines calendar is especially nice because one of our photos appears on the cover (duh). Can you guess where it was shot? Hint: it rhymes with "ledge" and lots of bones are broken there. Order your Tidelines calendar now so you too can time all…

Phil CollaDecember 4, 2007

Guadalupe Island Mexico Panoramas

Guadalupe Island Panoramic Photo

I shot this panoramic photo, a series of six individual photographs, one morning last week, shortly after sunrise, from the upper deck of the boat Horizon. Guadalupe Island was covered in that great golden sunrise light that only lasts for a few minutes. The ocean surrounding the island was covered…

Phil CollaSeptember 21, 2007

Landscape Oregon Panoramas

Columbia River Viewed From Vista House

Vista House was built in 1918 as a memorial to Oregon pioneers and as a comfort station for those traveling on the Historic Columbia River Highway. The octagonal stone structure towers 733 feet above the Columbia River and provides a spectacular view. Click it to see it larger, or see…

Phil CollaAugust 30, 2007

Landscape Panoramas Washington

Photo of North Head Lighthouse, Washington

While in Astoria recently, we took a little drive across to the Washington side of the Columbia River to see North Head Lighthouse. It was overcast, sort of pre-storm looking, perfect weather for walking around a blustery promontory high above the coast and checking out an old lighthouse. Below is…

Phil CollaAugust 29, 2007

Panoramas

Lunar Eclipse Photo

I took some photos of the total lunar eclipse last night from my backyard. At the peak of the eclipse, when the moon was totally in the Earth's shadow, no direct sunlight reached the moon so it was lit only faintly by light refracting (bending) through the relatively thin layer…

Phil CollaAugust 28, 2007

California Panoramas

Lake Tahoe Panoramic Photo

Last summer we went to Lake Tahoe for a wedding. Lake Tahoe in summer is beautiful. I found a turnout on the highway above Incline Village which offered this view. This is a panoramic photograph obtained by stitching 6 separate images together on the computer. If you like this you…

Phil CollaAugust 17, 2007

Landscape Panoramas Washington

Mount St. Helens Panoramic Photo

From the 2005 archives: I left Seattle in the late afternoon and began my speed run south, home to Carlsbad. I planned to stop at three spots: Mount St. Helens, Crater Lake and Oakland. I reached the Johnston Ridge viewpoint of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (say that three…

Phil CollaAugust 15, 2007

California Landscape National Parks Panoramas Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Tenaya Lake Panoramic Photo

In late summer a few years ago we took the kids to spend a few nights in Tuolumne Meadows and then drive over Tioga Pass to see Mono Lake. We stopped at Lake Tenaya for a swim and a picnic lunch on the way to the meadows. This is a…

Phil CollaAugust 14, 2007

Aerial Photography Alaska

Aerial Photos of Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

While out hiking around the Exit Glacier area I was so impressed by the weather that I decided to go to the airport and look for a pilot to take me flying. I love flying in the little planes, wheeled and float alike, in Alaska. For some reason I feel…

Phil CollaAugust 13, 2007

Panoramas Sierra Nevada

Minarets Panorama

On our way to a wedding in Tahoe last summer we stopped for a bit of fishing at Mammoth Lakes. I got up early and made a sunrise visit to the Minarets overlook, and got this view. This is a panoramic photograph, composed of 10 separate images stitched (on the…

Phil CollaAugust 9, 2007

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